


We Have the Rest of Our Lives

by C1ashi1dr



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 10:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14872304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1ashi1dr/pseuds/C1ashi1dr
Summary: Clara didn't quite know what to make of the girl who had just moved across the street, but she decided that she might as well go and say hello.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta. Any mistakes are mine.

Clara had been 10 years old when the girl across the street had moved in, Clara had watched as the cars and trucks, came and went, and a small girl, smaller than Clara herself, came running out one day, hair twisted back into a braid, wearing a pair pants and a t-shirt, barefoot across the lawn, to check their mailbox. Watching from the window with fascination, Clara saw the girl look around briefly before walking back into her home. So fascinated was she, Clara didn’t even realize that her mother, Ellie Oswald, was behind her until a hand was laid on her shoulder, which made her jump a few feet in the air.

“You should go over and say hi,” her mother said, and Clara looked up at her, before turning back to staring out the window where the girl had disappeared. “She probably doesn’t have any friends, having just moved here.”

Clara nodded and got to her feet, barefoot like the girl, and she opened the door, walking out without shoes on. Ellie called her back and told her to put on some shoes, and Clara reluctantly did so, sliding her feet into a pair of sandals before she ran out the door and across the street to knock on the door.

The girl from before pulled the door open, and Clara smiled down at her. “Hullo,” Clara said, but the girl regarded her with suspicion. “I noticed that you moved in and came to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Still silence from the girl, who was still staring at her. “My name is Clara.”

“Ashildr,” the girl replied, the first words that Clara had heard her utter. She sounded strange to Clara, like she was British, but the accent was off from what she had normally heard. “D’you wanna come in?”

“Are your parents home?” Clara asked, but the girl shook her head, stepping to the side. Clara walked in anyway, because she didn’t think that the girl could be too dangerous.

The rest of the day, Clara and the girl, Ashildr, played in the backyard of Ashildr’s home, running about and playing tag and catch and on the swings, until Ashildr’s parents came home. Ashildr’s dad was a big man, broad shoulders with a bald head, but he wasn’t that mean, while Ashildr’s mother was shorter and thinner than her father, with brown locks twisted into a braid, just like Ashildr’s hair was. They were both very sweet to Clara, and invited her to dinner, which Clara had to reject, because her mother was probably getting worried. Ashildr hugged her before she left and Clara swore to come back the next day after school to play with her.

*******

Five years later, Ashildr was laying across Clara’s lap under the tree in Clara’s backyard, staring up at the green leaves while Clara read a book. The two had been inseparable since they were children, never leaving the other’s side. Their friendship had blossomed after that first day, and Ashildr had begun to open up more to Clara, and Clara in turn, had taken to leaning more heavily on Ashildr when bad things happened. It had taken a few years to come to it, but eventually, Clara and Ashildr had started going out together, acting more like an older married couple than anything else.

Now they were resting, when they should have been studying for their A Levels, and above Clara’s head were proudly engraved the words: Clara & Ashildr. No hearts, no arrows, just three simple words that meant the world to the two girls resting in the shade of the tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this was good.


	2. Part 2

Floorboards rolled under Ashildr’s feet when Clara spoke, sending her vision reeling violently as she doubled over and fought the urge to retch. Too much, it was too much too soon, and when had it even happened? Questions flew through the younger teen’s mind, but one stuck and pressed at the front of her head, hammering there until she thought she would faint. The question, bitter as a pill, forced its way up her throat and onto her tongue where it remained until she finally asked:

“Who?” And when she looked up, the blood had completely drained from Clara’s face, making her pale skin look white. Ashildr straightened and looked at the older girl, technically a woman at this point, and saw the guilt and the pain and the fear there, and suddenly she wanted to lunge forward and assure her that she would never leave, that Ashildr would always be there for her, to support her, to do whatever it is that was needed of her.

“Danny.” Hands clenched tightly at Ashildr’s side, because of course it was Danny, but now was not the time to judge Clara, because she was being so vulnerable with her and she would never take advantage of Clara when she was vulnerable. Unclenched fingers reaching and then grabbing Clara’s hand, a lifeline to hold onto. “We were arguing, and he invited me to a party, and it escalated…” And suddenly tears were pouring down Clara’s face and Ashildr pulled her into a tight hug as Clara sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, Ashildr, I never thought-I never think and now I’m paying the price, and I understand if you want to leave right now and I wouldn’t blame you in the slightest-”

“Shut up,” Ashildr said, turning her head to press a fervent kiss to Clara’s temple, hoping to silence her. When the older tried to protest, Ashildr quickly, but quietly overruled her. “You know that I love you with all of my heart and that I would never leave you.”

“But-”

“I will never leave you,” Ashildr reiterated. “You are the one constant that I will keep in my life, and no matter what, I won’t abandon you, especially in your hours of need.”

Silence, and Ashildr briefly wondered if her admittance of love and the need of forever had come on too strong, but pushed that thought aside. She had told Clara so many times how much she had loved her and wouldn’t change that rhetoric. But Clara was worrying with her silence and she pressed another kiss to the girl’s temple. Stirring under the touch, Clara pressed a kiss to Ashildr’s cheek before pulling back. Her eyes were rimmed in red, but she was grinning.

“Have you told Danny yet?” Ashildr asked and suddenly the guilt was back in her eyes as she shook her head. “You probably should.”

“He’s joining the army next year, Ash. He’s just going to leave me alone and-”

"He needs to know, Clara,” Ashildr said. “Even if he pulls a runner, he needs to know.”

Clara sighed but nodded and kissed Ashildr again, this time on the lips. “I love you, I swear I do, and I love you even more for agreeing to stay with me through this.” And then she was a gone, as if she had never even been there and she left Ashildr, shaken, but strong, just for her sake.


	3. Part 3

Unique was the buzzing sensation under Ashildr’s pillow as she woke, grumbling to someone who wasn’t even there. The young woman was stretched out across her bed at three o’clock in the morning, where she should have been in the first place, and she pulled the phone out from under her pillow, staring at it, wondering who was calling her. Across the screen was emblazoned the word Clara and suddenly Ashildr was wide awake and answered the phone. 

“What do you need?” the younger asked, getting out of bed and pulling on a jacket and her sneakers so that she could do whatever she needed. The phone was clasped firmly between her ear and her shoulder as she did this, only straightening when her other sneaker was tied and secured.

“Hey, could you come over?” Clara asked, and Ashildr could hear Anna screaming in the background. Ashildr nodded before realizing that they were only on the phone and replied aloud. Clara thanked her for a second time before hanging up and Ashildr shoved her phone into her back pocket, running out the door. 

Her parents were asleep, thank God, and she closed the front door quietly, running across the yard and then around the street and then up to Clara’s house, circling around to the back where she knew Clara’s room door was. She knocked on it instead of the front door and it opened to reveal Clara, Anna cradled in one arm. The young woman looked completely exhausted and Ashildr immediately took Anna from her arms.

“Hey,” Clara said, kissing her quickly before moving to the side so she could come in. “She won’t stop crying. I’ve tried everything, changing her nappy, feeding her...I’m at my wits end.”

“Are you driving Mummy crazy?” Ashildr asked, staring down at the six-month old girl in her arms. “Yes, a bet you are. Come on, what’s wrong, love?” The child had stopped crying briefly to stare up at Ashildr, who grinned at her. A hand reached out briefly, brushing Ashildr’s hair before pulling back to the girl’s chest. Then Anna’s face screwed back up again and she was crying. Ashildr looked back up at Clara, who was staring at both of them with the most open love she had ever seen. Ashildr looked back down and hushed the baby girl, singing to her in a soft voice, quieting her until she fell asleep. She set the girl back in the cradle and when she looked back up at Clara, she was staring at Ashildr full of awe.

“I can’t believe you did that,” she said in a rough whisper. “You would make a great mum. Just the best.”

“What do you mean, I already am,” Ashildr replied. “And I love it, just as much as I love Anna, and not near as much as I love you.” They met with a brief kiss but Clara broke it by yawning loudly. Ashildr shook her head, and dragged her to the bed across the room, pushing her down and collapsing next to her, falling asleep curled around her girlfriend with her adopted daughter a few feet away.


	4. Part 4

Ashildr watched Clara helping their daughter into her swimsuit for their trip to the beach, steaming mug of coffee gripped between her hands as the elder of them worked to get all of the straps sorted out, before moving to rubbing sunscreen over Anna’s face, who wanted nothing to do with that white substance. The pool bag was sitting on the counter in front of her and she abandoned the mug on the granite to pick up the bag. Clara had already changed into her bikini, but had a tanktop and shorts on, while Ashildr had just opted for a one piece with her own t-shirt and shorts. Anna, however, had a sundress on over her swimsuit.

“Mummy, it got in my mouth!” Anna complained loudly, appealing to Ashildr, but she just laughed, kneeling next to the frustrated 7 year old.

“Don’t open your mouth when your Mum is putting on your sunscreen then,” Ashildr replied, and Anna grumbled but closed her mouth throughout the rest of the application. Ashildr nudged Clara with foot to tell her that Anna had enough sunscreen on to look like a ghost and Clara pressed her sunscreen covered hands on Ashildr’s arm, making her squirm away, laughing. Anna was laughing to, and Clara was only grinning wickedly as the two converged on Ashildr, covering her in sunscreen. 

Once the small family was done goofing off, Clara led them out the door and held it open as Ashildr ushered Anna onto the driveway, where their bikes sat. Ashildr made sure to grab their helmets, placing one on Anna’s head and handed Clara hers. Making sure everything was in place, Ashildr swung a leg over her bike and pushed off, pedalling out of the driveway and down the hill to the beach. She glanced over her shoulder to find that Anna and Clara were right behind her.

Ashildr was glad that they had decided to stay in Blackpool, if only for the reason that they got to go to the beach when summer came around. Clara was attending Uni, trying to get a teaching degree, while Ashildr went to Uni to get her own degree, but in Criminal Justice. She had decided to be a Detective, much to Clara’s worry, but her girlfriend stood behind her, for which Ashildr was grateful.

Both had been able to get in on scholarships and grants, which had been helpful in reducing the cost of Uni, and Clara had even been able to be home part time to watch over Anna when she had been younger. Now that Anna was older, she went to school, so that took the strain off of Clara and Ashildr to watch over her all day, and Ashildr had begun taking longer class hours to finish her degree quicker.

Ashildr turned the corner onto the boardwalk, letting Clara and Anna catch up to her before she parked her bike and walked out onto the sand. Clara brought had brought a few more things and they set up a towel and their picnic on the sand while Anna rushed out into the surf to dance about.

Clara reclined beside her while Ashildr kept one eye on their daughter, and Clara leaned over to press a quick kiss to Ashildr’s cheek. Ashildr looked over at her girlfriend, smiling. 

“Love you, Clara,” Ashildr said, and Clara grinned back.

“Love you too,” Clara replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Feed back is greatly appreciated!


End file.
